Capacity Support

Indigenous Women, Youth, Emerging Leaders, and Fellowship Opportunities

 

Resources

ALL REGIONS

 

Forest Stewardship Council Indigenous Foundation (FSC-IF)

Overview: The FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC-IF) is a global Indigenous organization supporting Indigenous Peoples’ self-development, self-governance and self-reliance through Indigenous-based solutions, multi-sectoral partnerships and funding.

Reflections from One Young World: Read blogs from Indigenous youth leaders on their experiences at the summit and how they will carry this knowledge to their communities.

Indigenous Fellowship Program - APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY CLOSED: In partnership with USAID and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the FSC-IF invites applications from Indigenous Peoples to exchange, dialogue, and to strengthen their leadership and networks with the aim to facilitate the implementation of a project at the sub-national, national, regional, or global level and to share their experience and learning process with their Indigenous peers. The critical topic areas of this fellowship opportunity are Environment/Climate Change, Land Rights, and Indigenous Economies.

Business Development Fellowship: For this first round of the Ancestral Seeds Fund, proposals will be received from Indigenous youth entrepreneurs from four different regions of the world: Africa, Asia, South America, and Mesoamerica that have previously participated in programs or projects implemented by USAID implementing partners in the country from they are applying.

 

Nia Tero

Overview: Nia Tero works in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples who sustain thriving territories and cultures to strengthen guardianship of Earth and all beings. Nia Tero forges transparent and just agreements with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure they can successfully defend and govern their territories, manage and protect their natural resources, and pursue their livelihoods.

  • Creative Fellowships: Nia Tero offers a suite of Creative Fellowship opportunities for Indigenous makers across disciplines to further their practice, be in community, build skills, and network – all with the goal of uplifting and amplifying Indigenous creatives
  • NATIVe Stand: an international professional-development opportunity for Indigenous producers to attend the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin with 1-2 market-ready feature film projects
  • Pasifika Journalism: supports Indigenous journalists as individuals or pairs on stories in the Pacific that cover critical topic areas surrounding what Nia Tero calls “Indigenous guardianship” - Indigenous Peoples’ sovereign, collective care for thriving homelands and waters.
  • Storytelling: a yearlong program aimed to support and amplify the work of seasoned, Indigenous storytelling creatives within Nia Tero’s priority regions (Pasifika, Amazonia, and North America) as well as globally.

Leadership Fellowship: this program is modeled after Indigenous teaching methods and concepts of leadership, with the goal to enhance leadership development and succession, thereby contributing to local durable support and guardianship of territories

  • Regional Focus: the program was adapted into three regional areas – North America, Amazonia, and Pasifika

Policy Apprenticeship: this program seeks to strengthen Indigenous organizations in influencing lobal public policies that are applied at the regional, national, and local levels, directly and indirectly impacting their territories.

 

Cultural Survival

Overview: Cultural Survival is an Indigenous-led NGO and U.S. registered non-profit that advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures, and political resilience, since 1972. For 50 years, Cultural Survival has partnered with Indigenous communities to advance Indigenous Peoples’ rights and cultures worldwide.

Fellowships: Cultural Survival’s Indigenous Youth Fellowship Program supports young Indigenous leaders between ages of 17-28, who are eager to learn about technology, program development, journalism, community radio, media, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights advocacy.

  • 2025 Call for Indigenous Youth Creatives and Visionaries: CALL OPEN UNTIL NOVEMBER 30, 2024
    • Cultural Survival is pleased to announce its 2025 call for proposals for our Indigenous Youth Fellowships to support individuals or groups of young Indigenous communicators, activists, artists, creatives and visionaries to develop their capacities, training, research, production and creation aimed at strengthening their cultural identity and leadership. Youth leadership development is an integral part of ensuring the wellness of communities, and Indigenous youth are the future of that well-being.

 

Global Diversity Foundation (GDF)

Overview: With twenty years of experience adapting and scaling changemaking, GDF has a significant portfolio of projects that continue to have positive impacts on local communities. GDF engages with changemakers from all sectors, across all geographies and from diverse backgrounds – be they community-based activists or global movers-and-shakers. GDF marries local action and knowledge with global innovation to restore nature, enhance livelihoods and promote diversity.

Conservation and Communities Fellowship (CCF) – APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY CLOSED: CCF is an online and in-person fellowship for leaders of Global South grassroots organizations working at the intersection of biodiversity and livelihoods. The Fellowship is a 10-month tailored learning and development programme for Global South leaders. It seeks to bring greater equity in the conservation funding flows from the Global North by supporting grassroot Global South civil society organizations to directly access funds for their projects and programs.

 

Kinship Conservation Fellows

Overview: The Kinship Conservation Fellowship supports conservation practitioners across the globe. The program is designed to advance your career and equip you with new skills, insights, and analytical tools to accelerate the projects you lead at home. The month-long, in-residence Fellowship focuses on market-based solutions in conservation and cultivates your leadership skills in the sector.

Kinship Conservation Fellowship Application Details - 2025 FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN: This 2025 program runs June 29 – July 29 at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, USA. This fellowship looks for conservation leaders with at least five years of on the ground experience in conservation, who are involved with the implementation of market-based approaches to solve environmental problems and ready to be part of an expanding community of global leaders.

 

United Nations Human Rights - Office of the High Commission: Indigenous Fellowship Program (IFP)

About the programme: The programme contributes to build the capacity and expertise of indigenous representatives on the UN system and mechanisms dealing with human rights in general and indigenous issues in particular. This means they are in a better position to protect and promote the rights of their communities at the international level.

  • Call for applications: OHCHR Indigenous Fellowship Program 2025: APPLICATION OPEN UNTIL SATURDAY, 31 AUGUST 2024

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    MADRE

    Overview: MADRE works toward a world where women and people who are marginalized fully participate in shaping policies and decision making, their expertise and leadership is recognized and upheld, and they equitably hold power and resources within their communities. MADRE builds solidarity-based partnerships with grassroots movements in more than 40 countries, working side-by-side with local leaders on policy solutions, grantmaking, capacity bridging, and legal advocacy to achieve our shared vision for justice

    Learn more about MADRE, their work, partners, action center, and more here.

     

    RRI Women in Global South Alliance for tenure and climate (WiGSA)

    Overview: WiGSA is an alliance of women’s organizations, groups, and associations in the global South working to scale-up direct climate finance for Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women and girls. WiGSA advocates for changes to the current global structure of donor funding to fight climate change and conserve biodiversity by securing direct, equitable, flexible, and long-term funding for Indigenous, Afro-descendent, and local community women and girls in the global South.

     

    International Forum of Indigenous Women (FIMI)

    Overview: FIMI articulates actions with organizations, networks, and Indigenous leaders from around the world to promote the fight for individual and collective rights. FIMI is a global mechanism that articulates Indigenous Women from seven sociocultural regions, focusing on political advocacy, capacity building, economic empowerment and leadership development

    FIMI Programs

     

    Pawanka Fund

    Overview: Pawanka Fund is an Indigenous led fund making effort supporting Indigenous peoples initiatives engaged in promoting and protecting traditional knowledge, wellbeing, rights and self-determined development. Pawanka responds to the needs of Indigenous peoples building relationships of trust, networking and promoting articulation between local and global processes. We [Pawanka] provide direct support to community led organizations for the recovery and revitalization of Indigenous knowledge and learning systems ins even sociocultural regions of the world including North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Arctic, Pacific, and Russia.

     

    AFRICA REGION

     

    Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC)

    Overview: PWC is a membership organization that empowers women at the community-level to take control of their own development. PWC serves Ngorongoro, Longido and Monduli Districts in north-eastern Tanzania. PWC’s mission is to sustainable empower pastoralist women and girls in northern Tanzania to ensure their rights and voices are respected, they are economically empowered, and they have access to quality social services.

    Regional Focus: serving Ngorongoro, Longido, and Monduli Districts in north-eastern Tanzania

    Issue Focus: Rights and Leadership, Economic Empowerment, Education, Health Access, Water Provision, Climate Resilience and Adaptation

    Learn more about Pastoral Women’s Council

     

    Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO)

    Overview: MPIDO envisions a just and equitable society that recognize and upholds human rights and the fundamental freedom of Indigenous peoples’. As Indigenous people in Africa udnergo political, economic, and social challenges, MPIDO curves her niche into pursuing Livelihoods, climate change intervention, mitigation and adaptation; governance and conflict resolution, natural resource management; Gender, women and youth empowerment response targeting all pastoralists, hunter and gatherer communities. Through years of expertise and experience, MPIDO now serves the marginalized needs of all Indigenous peoples at a Pan african and Global Stage.

    • Regional Focus: serving Indigenous peoples at a Pan-African and Global Stage
    • Programmes: Land and natural resource rights, climate change interventions, livelihoods, girl child education and women empowerment, leadership and governance, land and natural resource rights
    • Learn more about MPIDO

     

    African Indigenous Women Organization (AIWO)

    Overview: The African Indigenous Women’s Organization (AIWO) is a continental-wide Non-Governmental Organization whose members are composed of African Indigenous Women representing NGOs, Community Based Organizations, and other grass-root organizations (who undertake social and economic activities for their own gain). AIWO works towards the promotion of women’s and Indigenous peoples' rights which include social, economic, and political empowerment in Africa.

    Regional Focus: Target groups are African Indigenous Women throughout the African content and AIWO networks with Non-Governmental Organizations, Community-Based Organizations and other partners run by and for the benefit of African Indigenous Women

    Major Programs: Environmental conservation, reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS. Women's rights and gender mainstreaming, education, women economic empowerment, influence policy change, cultural preservation

    Learn more about AIWO